I spent the past week in Point Reyes. I’ve visited the park dozens of times already, but this was the first time I’ve spent a significant amount of time there in the morning. Mornings in Point Reyes involve very early drives from San Francisco, especially this time of year when I’d need to leave at 4:30 am to arrive for sunrise. So, I was excited to stay in the area and experience multiple Point Reyes sunrises over the course of a week.
My main goal was to improve on one of my favorite California Quail compositions. I love the rolling hills in the background of that shot, but the quail is showing me its drab backside instead of the beautiful multicolored feathers on its front. I hoped with a week of focused time I could get a similar shot with a quail facing me.
The whole week involved a patient, contemplative approach to photography. Instead of wandering around as I often do, hoping to stumble into exciting action, I slowed down, visualized compositions, and waited for the conditions to come together. Of course, the more I slowed down and watched the natural world get used to my presence, the more unexpected opportunities came my way.
If you just want the highlights, here are my favorite shots from the week. If you have time, read on for the stories behind these shots and other moments in the field.
There are always plenty of Brush Rabbits at Abbotts Lagoon around sunrise/sunset. They’ll scatter pretty quickly when you walk by, but if you stay still for long enough, they’ll eventually emerge and go about their day as long as you remain perfectly still.
I spent a lot of time focusing on a composition I really enjoyed in front of a bridge over a small creek. A composition like this is a real exercise in patience. There’s nothing to be done to hurry it. All you can do is line up your shot, lie still, wait, and hope the rabbits will give you a good pose at the right location.
Of course, I got plenty of other adorable photos while waiting for the rabbits to pose where I wanted them. If I was still enough, they sometimes came within a couple feet of me.
Lying down and waiting during quiet days on the trail gave me a perspective I don’t usually see. The Brush Rabbits weren’t the only shy species who showed themselves. I saw a number of small mammals scurrying in and out of cover, including this tiny California Vole.
Spotted Towhees are very striking birds, but they spend most of their time deep in the brush, so they’re rarely photographed. In the spring, however, they find prominent perches to attract mates and defend their territory. I only had a few good photos of them before this week, so I was quite happy to get a variety of compositions throughout the week.
May was a great time to see the full Tule Elk lifecycle on display. This cow and her calf had ventured close to the road, giving me a rare opportunity at a full-frame shot of the pair. They’re usually farther from the road, and there’s no point trying to get close: they’ll take off for cover at the first sight of a human on foot. All you’ll do is stress the elk.
Meanwhile, the bulls are preparing for the rut. The vast majority are still in velvet, methodically grazing to fuel the antler growing process and to put on weight to sustain them through the period where they focus more on fighting than feeding.
One bull is ahead of the rest in his preparation. The bulls normally shed their velvet in June or July, but this one is already showing off his completed rack and practicing his aggressive bull strut. He just has six points on his rack, unlike the big bull above, so he’s unlikely to get the opportunity to breed this year, even with a head start.
Great Blue Herons hunting gophers are always fun. This one didn’t catch any gophers in my presence, but it foreshadowed one of my favorite photos of the trip. More on that soon.
I haven’t photographed Common Ravens very much, but they gave me a few great opportunities throughout the week.
I also don’t do black and white very often, but some harsh light shining through scattered clouds was the perfect opportunity to use black and white to show off the texture in the clouds and the layered hills in the background.
This raven appeared to be enjoying the landscape right at sunrise. It’s a shame about the invasive thistles behind the raven.
This last photo is something I’ve heard about but never seen before. Gophers really are at the bottom of the Point Reyes food chain, and I can add ravens to my list of animals I’ve seen feed on them. Some Brewer’s Blackbirds were harassing the raven hoping to get a piece of the gopher, but the raven flew off with its prize.
There were plenty of California Quail all week, of course. I find them to be somewhat skittish this time of year. The males are up on high perches sounding off their mating calls, but they’ll quickly jump down when approached, or even if a vehicle slows down while going by.
Shooting at sunrise gave me new perspectives at places I’d previously photographed them:
I always enjoy getting at eye level with quail on the ground. As with the rabbits, it takes patience to wait for the quail to get comfortable enough to walk towards you.
I’d seen California Quail on rocks before, but Daniel Dietrich gave me some pointers on how to really hone in on this particular composition. This was another exercise in patience, with hours spent waiting for the quail to perch on the particular rocks I had lined up for a good composition. Trying to chase them if they perched on different rocks would only send them running for cover. There’s only so much golden time each day, so I didn’t dedicate the best light to these photos. Now that I know how to set this kind of shot up, I’ll have to try it in better light.
I’ve shot California Quail in flight before. And I’ve shot the occasional quail silhouette. I was lucky enough to have a quail hop off the ground onto a fence post right next to me when I pulled my car off the road. When startled, they’ll often hop onto a high perch from which to scan the area before flying into cover. That’s exactly what the quail did here, and shortly after perching high, it took off towards some nearby bushes.
Ultimately I didn’t get the panoramic quail vista I was after. The quail were skittish all week, and even when they were perched in the right spot, they didn’t stay still long enough for me to get the shot. I’m pretty sure I can make the shot happen with some more patience, and who knows what other excitement I’ll experience along the way.
This was the closest I got. There’s a panorama, but I didn’t have the right angle to get the hills I wanted in the background.
